In the news: A Zain / Twitter hookup, more Saudi WiMax, and ambiguous news for UAE startups

- Twitter is in talks with Zain, the regional mobile operator,

[ to launch a local SMS-based notifications system for the Middle East, according to Arabcrunch ]

. For Twitter, this is a good deal if Zain will send all those texts for free, for Zain, this is a good deal in terms of adding a trendy new bell and whistle to its service. But does anyone really want to recieve all their tweets via text message anymore? And don't most people have a smartphone with a Twitter app?

- Speaking of Zain, its shareholders will vote this week on

[ abolishing an ownership restriction clause that prevents anyone from acquiring a more than 2% stake ]

in the company. Opening the door for a possible stake sale to another telco or institutional investor? Was Etisalat's seemingly crazy

[ statement about buying Zain ]

possibly less crazy than it sounded?

- Atheeb's rollout of a national WiMax internet network in Saudi Arabia continues,

[ with Medina that latest city to be blanketed in sweet wireless broadband deliciousness ]

, reports ITP.net. There has been a lot of smack talked about WiMax, and it does seem to be a technology destined for nichedom. But it certainly seems like a good way to quickly roll out a competitive new broadband internet network, something needed in markets all across the region.

- Last week's

[ scrapping of the Dh150,000 ($40,000) minimum capital requirement ]

for startup companies in the UAE was widely hailed as good news for entrepreneurs. But The National's Wayne Arnold

[ argues that the picture is a little cloudier than it may seem. ]

(Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat / AFP)